‘Paddington in Peru' VFX Studio Reveals Secrets of Bringing the Lovable Bear to Life, From Human Stand-Ins to 4K Fur (EXCLUSIVE)

Yahoo

24-02-2025

With 'Paddington in Peru' now on its second week of adventures in U.S. cinemas and having hit a global box office of $125 million, VFX powerhouse Framestore has lifted the lid on how it brought the entirely CG bear — and much of his surroundings — to life.
In a VFX breakdown video exclusively given to Variety, the company has unveiled the work that went into not just creating Paddington Bear, but the vast array of other animals that feature in film, the exotic Peruvian locations, including the Home for Retired Bears (mostly shot in a U.K. studio), and a scene in which Paddington takes control (badly) of a riverboat careering down a chopping jungle river (again, shot in the U.K.). The video shows Ben Whishaw — who voices Paddington — in the studio, recording the lines and also embodying the bear emotionally so his face can be used as reference for VFX, others (including animation director Pablo Grillo) standing in for the bear for the CG to be added later and also the shoot that took place in the real life Machu Picchu.
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Alongside the video, Framestore has also provided a few facts about making 'Paddington in Peru,' which was produced by StudioCanal and released by Sony in the U.S.
In the film, Paddington's fur was multiplied by 4 times as much as on the 'Paddington 2' to make sure the design translated into 4k resolution.
Everything Paddington touches is CG, so the VFX team had to build digital versions of any prop he interacts with.
The llamas in the film were all CG. In order to create them, the team first had to visit a llama sanctuary to 'cast' their hero llama (a 'fine specimen' named Diesel).
Paddington's duffle coat was recreated, to achieve greater movement, drape, and texture, using a new cloth solver called Carbon. For reference, they used stand-ins wearing the coat to see how it would move, react and interact.
For Paddington's roar, they needed to create specific facial shapes and pay closer attention to the inside of his mouth. On set, leaf blowers generated 'wind' to interact with the roar, to make it more realistic.
Machu Picchu was not closed off for filming, so the original background plates contain other visitors and tourists that had to be removed using digital matte painting.
The rig for the riverboat was suspended 10-12 feet from the ground, in order to be able to simulate the movement on the rough water.
Capturing the background plates for the riverboat scene required a 5 camera array, all shooting in 4k.
The total render time for 'Paddington in Peru' reached an incredible 88,884,749 hours (or 10,146 years), across Framestore's studios in London, Montreal, and Mumbai.
See Framestore's VFX breakdown video below
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